Baby Stetson (Love and Music in Texas #1) (19 page)

“Paula.” Dad’s voice changed from the kind tone to a more stern one. “There really is no reason for you to get so defensive and rude, is there?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Is there? You never supported me the way you do for her.” Paula cast a glance at Avery.

“Supported you in what? Marrying a man that would ruin you, at seventeen years old? Follow him around in a drug-induced haze because you couldn’t see what that relationship did to you? So you ran off, shutting us out of your life for eight years before you contacted us again,” Mom said through her tears.

“So you replaced me!” Paula huffed.

“Replace you? Absolutely not.” Dad crossed his arms over his chest.

“Then what do you call Avery? Not a replacement?”

“There’s room in our hearts and home for Avery, and always for you. You don’t ever have to be jealous. There’s no replacing anyone, and that goes for both of you. No matter how you came to me, blood related or a mysterious miracle, your mother and I love both of you equally. We’ve had our share of problems, Paula, but we’d never replace you and we still love you unconditionally.”

Avery watched wordlessly, her heart lodged in her throat, blood roaring in her ears. Paula was on edge. What would it take to send her over? What would she do? Avery had no doubt the woman had a mean streak a mile wide, and if she chose to unleash it, there’s no telling what would happen next. Avery swallowed hard.

“Whatever,” Paula muttered. She bolted past them, and thundered upstairs. A door slammed a moment later. Avery glanced over at Mom and Dad. Mom’s face was white, and Dad caught his lip between his teeth.

“Some things don’t change,” Mom said softly. “This is just what it was like before she ran off. Very intense. I’m sorry for this, Avery.”

“You have nothing to be sorry for,” Avery reassured her. This was bound to happen. Avery worried about this day just as much as Mom worried about Avery reuniting with her birth parents. But things would be okay. Avery had to believe that. Life couldn’t just unravel in one swift tug of the yarn.

After weighing the options, tossing and turning, and fighting with a pounding headache, Lucas came to a few conclusions. First, he would do whatever it takes to make things right with Avery. Even if nothing ever happened between them and he moved on from this town, which would happen, he wouldn’t feel right if he knew someone he came to care about hated his guts.

He needed to learn to be on his own. For too long, he’d stayed hidden under someone else’s wing, lurking in the shadow, following them from place to place. That could no longer continue. How did he go from taking care of himself for years in his teens, to all of his adult life never having a real job. Yeah, he had a decent amount of money, but what good did that do for him? Covering up problems for an unstable person? Lucas never imagined that while doing so, he’d meet someone that effortlessly and unknowingly made him want to change.

He didn’t stand a chance with her. Not long term.

But Lucas was not going to leave things the way they were.

He could take Avery to meet her mother. Oh, there would be backlash. Tons of it. Lucas wouldn’t be able to move on from this part of his life if he didn’t make that bold move. Avery was worth it. She deserved that closure. Even if there were no relationships formed, Avery needed answers.

Lucas could at least attempt to help her get those answers. It wasn’t enough to make amends for his past, but it was a damn good start to a new beginning.

A waitress brought him a hot plate of food. There was steak, sautéed mushrooms, and a baked potato. He nodded in a thank you as his mouth watered. Tonight he’d decided not to eat at the inn. Lucas wanted a break. He didn’t want to run into Avery, Rodney, or anyone else. He needed that time to clear his head and think about things. Now, if only he could pull this plan together and then get Avery to hear him out.

His phone beeped. Another text message. Lucas sighed, putting down the knife and fork. He could ignore it.

No, better to just get it over with. With a few clicks and swipes, Lucas pulled up the message.

“Despite what you think, how I act, I care about you and about her well being.”

Lucas pounded the tiny keyboard furiously typing a response.

“You have an odd way of showing it. In both aspects. You want to keep her safe, then tell me why. Better yet, let me bring her there.”

He held his breath.

“I can’t.”

Of course that would be the response. Lucas grunted, typing back.

“Why not? Don’t want anyone to know? You’re that ashamed?”

“It’s not that. It’s complicated.”

Lucas snorted. Complicated. Right. Isn’t that what they all said? Disgusted, he stuffed his phone in his pocket. Forget about wasting time trying to get through to a brick wall. Dinner was getting cold, and for once, Lucas wanted to enjoy something instead of dealing with consequence.

The phone dinged again, but this time, Lucas took a bite of food instead.

After he’d taken the time to savor his dinner and paid the bill, Lucas peeked at the message on the phone. Surprised, he nearly dropped it.

He wasn’t reading the response correct.

No way.

“Fine. Make the arrangements. But she has to abide by my privacy requests. No one else can know. No one. You hear me? I have my reasons.”

Well, that was a good start. Lucas pocketed the phone, walking briskly to the inn. His ankle throbbed, but he ignored it. At least it wasn’t broken, or even sprained. Just a little bruised. The pain would fade in time. He wanted to go right over to Avery’s and talk to her now, but he hesitated. Should he go, or wait? Find out for sure if this would actually happen. The last thing he wanted to go was get her hopes up.

A river of headlights streamed across the highway. The little strip with the inn, restaurants and a gas station lined up in a row, with a backdrop of trees made for a peaceful walk. This time, Lucas kept an eye out for anything strange. Maybe the person in the car didn’t even have a personal agenda with him. They could have been drunk, high, or just stupid. He would probably never know. Who really knew him here in the town anyway except for Avery, her parents, and Rodney?

Rodney. Lucas snapped his fingers.

No. Why would he do that? Sure, Lucas didn’t trust the guy, and he knew it went both ways, but why would the man try to run him over?

“Fuck, I’m putting way too much thought into this,” Lucas said aloud.

Lightning flashed in the distance. Maybe a storm would roll in tonight.

Lack of trust had a good way of sending a mind into overdrive,
Lucas mused as he strolled through the entrance of his temporary place of residence.

Then he saw a sight that bothered him.

Paula, talking, no, not even talking, trying to persuade Rodney for something. Rodney appeared to be uncomfortable, actually backing away from her. For a moment, Lucas actually felt bad for the guy. Paula responded by getting closer. As Lucas neared, he smelled the whiskey. Sure enough, in her hand, was a bottle of the stuff. Lucas glanced at the front desk. Where was Alice? Any of the staff? Surely someone had to be around.

“Oh, I bet you swing the other way, right? That’s why you don’t want company in your room,” Paula slurred. “I’m lonely. I bet you’re lonely. So what’s the excuse?”

Disgusting. Lucas wondered what the woman would think if she knew who Rodney was. Or could be.

“I’m not interested, Miss. It sounds like what you need is to lay off the bottle,” Rodney said, pushing her advances away again. He turned his head slightly, and that’s when he caught on that Lucas was there. Rodney mouthed ‘help’ and gestured toward her. Paula stopped short and turned her attention on Lucas.

“Well, if it isn’t my adopted sister’s boy toy. I could go a little younger and show you a good time.” Paula swayed. Her eyes glazed. The woman was drunk off her rocker.

“You’ve got a lot of nerve, showing up here like that. If you’re here for your parents, then why are you getting drunk and accosting guests at this inn? Do you know how bad it will look for your mom and dad if this were to be reported?” Lucas kept Paula at arm’s length as she tried to push her way into his arms, making smooch sounds. God, her breath reeked! She couldn’t even stand up straight.

“They don’t seem to care about me, so why should I care?” Paula hissed.

Lucas thought Rodney had walked off, but instead, he aided Lucas in keeping her off of him. “We should get her to her parents’ house. This is Avery’s sister, I guess you’d say.”

Rodney frowned, and he held his grip on Paula’s arm. She didn’t fight them off. Lucas grabbed the whiskey bottle from her strong grip and tossed it into the trash can.

“Hey asshole, that wasn’t empty!” Paula protested, making a swipe at Lucas. She growled, missed, and almost fell forward on her face. Had either of the men not been holding her, she would have. “Let go of me!”

“You’ve had enough of it. You’re causing a ruckus. Now come on. Let’s get you out of here, back to your parents and hopefully sobered up,” Lucas snapped.

“I don’t want to go back there. They hate me. I hate me. They’ve got a new daughter, one they like better,” Paula whined.

“Oh, stop feeling sorry for yourself. No one hates you and they don’t have a ‘new’ daughter. Avery isn’t here to take your place, and she never was. Your mom and dad gave a child a home when she didn’t have anywhere else to go.” Lucas dared to look at Rodney, but the man didn’t meet his gaze. Instead, he continued to try and help keep Paula on her feet.

“What is going on?” There was Alice, behind them with her hands on her hips. But she caught sight of Paula and her expression changed. “Is she drunk? Damn, I can smell it! Gross!”

“Yeah, I came back a few minutes ago to her trying to get all over another guest here.” Lucas jerked his head in Rodney’s direction.

“Oh, I’m terribly sorry! This isn’t a normal thing here. Would you like me to call the police to press charges?” Her tone turned fearful.

“That won’t be necessary. I think I’ll just aid Lucas here in getting her back home. No harm done.”

Rodney could have easily made a big fuss, and Lucas could guess with one reason why he chose not to.

“I’ll call Avery, to at least warn them you’re coming. I’m sure with her mom so stressed and tired, they might want an advance notice,” Alice said promptly, heading to the desk and picking up the phone. As Lucas and Rodney led a ranting Paula out the door, Alice spoke rapidly into the phone.

Fifteen minutes and a few punches and kicks later, they finally arrived at the house. Avery and her father were already on the front porch, waiting for them. Avery’s eyes were puffy and red, like she’d been crying, and her father, even for his age, looked extremely pissed and a little intimidating.

“Uh oh ... here’s the parent police,” Paula muttered. She sagged, forcing Lucas and Rodney to practically drag her to the porch.

“Paula, you need to get up, sober up, and if this behavior continues, I’m going to have to ask you to leave. Your mother doesn’t need this, I don’t need this, and I certainly don’t want that kind of behavior around the inn. Accosting a guest? What is wrong with you? If you’re upset, and I know you are, then take it to the right place. Don’t bring the drama outside of our home into the workplace we’ve built for years.” Icicles dripped from the man’s voice. “And thank you both for bringing her back. I’m sorry for your troubles. And I’m terribly sorry she made unwanted advances on you.” The elder man looked at Rodney.

“You lecture me like a child. I’m nearly fifty years old,” Paula snapped.

“Then you may want to act like it,” her father snapped right back. “We’re glad to see you, but not like this, Paula. You run off to your room in a fit earlier, then slip right past us to get drunk? I did not expect to get a call from one of our employees warning us that two of our guests were bringing our drunk daughter back.”

Avery stood further back with her mouth open just slightly. Lucas could tell she was uncomfortable. He didn’t blame her. Maybe, if she’d let him, after they got Paula settled, he could convince her to go for a walk with him or something.

“You’re not better than me.” Paula seethed at Avery, then stumbled up the stairs and in the house, leaving everyone in stunned silence in the aftermath.

“I apologize for all the drama tonight,” Avery’s dad said, looking at each of them, including Avery. “Maybe I’d better get in and see to it that she doesn’t disturb your mom.” He planted a kiss on Avery’s head and hurried inside.

“What a night. What a day,” Avery said quietly, sinking into the swing behind her. “Thank you both. Neither of you needed to do that. Would you care for something to drink? Non alcoholic, of course.” She winked.

“I’m good, thank you,” Rodney said at the same time Lucas said “No thanks.”

“Avery, I’m supposed to get the results tomorrow, or at least, that’s what I’ve been told. Do you want to come by tomorrow late afternoon so we can talk about that?” Rodney asked.

Avery nodded. “That sounds good.”

“Okay, well, I think I’ll get on back now. I was on my way up to my room when she cornered me.” Rodney shuddered. “I had no idea that is your sister.”

“Yeah she’s been a bit of a handful.” Avery shook her head with a sigh.

Understatement, Lucas thought, but said nothing.

Rodney gave her a quick hug and waved to Lucas. “Thanks for your help, man.”

“No problem. Thank you for yours. Good night.” As Rodney left, Lucas turned his attention to Avery. “Are you going to be okay?” he asked gently. All he wanted was to sit beside her and hold her. Instead, he stayed where he was, leaning up against the front porch post.

Avery’s gaze connected with his. “Yeah. I’ll be okay.” Something in her tone called to him. He was torn. Move next to her, or back off? Which one?

Moving to sit beside her won. Whatever Avery did next, Lucas would deal with it. He perched beside her on the swing. The old wood creaked under his weight. Avery watched him with those big, beautiful greenish gray eyes. “Do you want me to go? I’ll leave you alone if that’s what you want.” Lucas hoped she would want him to stay, but wouldn’t blame her one bit if she chose the latter.